Who doesn’t love soup? Savoury and warm on a cold day, soup is the quintessential comfort food.

Keep soup simple. Let’s take carrots, for example. A simple carrot soup is probably less than 30 minutes away — and that includes the 20 minutes the ingredients are cooking on the stovetop.

Here’s a simple soup recipe — don’t worry about measurements: just do it. Heat a large pot with some olive oil. Rough chop an onion and dump it into the pot and cook it on medium heat until soft.

Clean and chop up a bag of carrots into small chunks and throw them in the pot. Dice up a piece of ginger about the size of your thumb and add it. Cover the carrots with water or stock or a mixture thereof. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Maybe chuck in a bit of thyme, dried or fresh.

Dump the lot into a food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender-wand right in the pot, to puree it down. Add more fluid depending on if you like a thick or thinner soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. As an option, you can add a bit of milk or cream and stir that in.

Soup it up and keep it simple with the ingredients you have at hand in your fridge and pantry.

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Andrew Coppolino is a Kitchener-based food writer and broadcaster. Visit him at waterlooregioneats.com.